Ramblings of a post-denominational frummer yid. Comments to benchorin613@yahoo.com

Tuesday, November 18, 2008

Last night's Likud convention was a rather civilized affair, as these things go. I'll tell you why. During three hours of speeches, the names of various suspicious characters now trying to piggyback on the Likud's rising fortunes -- Dan Meridor, Assaf Chefetz, Uzi Dayan, et al. -- were not mentioned even a single time. (I was paying careful attention.) If these names had been mentioned, the facade of unity and civility would have come crashing down.

Of course, the exception is Benny Begin, who was treated like royalty. He will come out right near the top in the primaries. Unfortunately, Begin Junior is a hopelessly uptight white guy whose exaggerated sense of propriety will be exploited by manipulative self-righteous pricks like Meridor. Buyer beware.

5 Comments:

Do you realize how nuts this is? Can you imagine sitting in your house, wanting nothing more than to eat a piece of cake, or vacuum the floor, or read the newspaper, and suddenly BOOM! There are people, haters, terrorists, shooting things at you that can knock your house down, smash the piece of cake, destroy the vacuum cleaner, shatter the TV screen, end your life??!!!

And can you imagine how the U.S. would react if the backyard you see in the video would be a backyard in Austin Texas, or in Scarsdale, New York??!!!

Would there be talk in the U.S. of restraint or would the B-52 bombers be in the air within 5 minutes? Would the U.S. Air Force worry about collateral damage, or would there be civilian blood in the streets of whatever country it was from whence the perpetrators hailed?

And would anyone in the international community have the nerve to say to the U.S. "Well, nobody in Austin or Scarsdale died, it was just some buildings that got hit, why are you overreacting like this?"

Or would the whole world understand that you do not mess with a sovereign country with such might unless you want to suffer the consequences. And that the only way to make sure that no one messes is by making sure that offenders suffer the consequences.

Don't you see what Israel has done? Agreeing to some bizarre set of rules under which she must suffer the blood of her sons and daughters before being allowed to do the natural thing, the right thing?

Watch the video again - From ancient times until today, is there a nation in the world possessing Israel's capabilities for massive retaliation that would allow that incident to go unpunished? Let alone to allow that incident to be repeated again and again day after day and have it go unpunished?

Watch the video again - For what does Israel have an army, an airforce, a navy? For what does she possess tanks, warplanes, submarines? For what does she demand of every young citizen that he or she give up days and weeks and months and years of his or her life serving in the armed forces?

Watch the video again - Think of the resistance fighters in the Warsaw ghetto, fighting with their bare knuckles against Nazi guns, fighting with little home-made bottle bombs against German tanks. Think of the last few resistance fighters in the Warsaw ghetto, huddled in the stinking Polish sewers, thinking "If only we had a few automatic rifles, a couple of tanks - we would show the world that Jewish blood is not cheap".

Watch the video again - Imagine the last of the resistance fighters charging out of the sewers to attack, in a last suicidal attempt to inflict a broken bone, a cut, a bruise, willing to exchange his life for that little bit of vengeance or justice. Think of the smile on his dying lips as he imagined a time when Jews would have big guns, and tanks, and airplanes. "Aahh", he thinks to himself, "That day will come. And then the world will know that Jews will not be stepped upon."

Watch the video again - and shed a tear - for the resistance fighter, for every Jew, for what Israel has become.

Because it does not seem like there is anything else to do. But to watch. And to weep.

I am not a big fan of Benny Begin. He, like Meridor, is a spoiled "prince" of the Likud, who didn't recognize the legitimacy of the "usurper" (Bibi) who took control of Dad's party. (Recall that Bibi is not from "The Fighting Family") Like Meridor, he left the Likud and went to a small party that failed, like Meridor he quit politics and now, again, like Meridor, decides he can have power by going with the winner, the Likud.Begin, except on Judea/Samaria issues is a supporter of the Leftist Establishment (AKA "the rule of law mafia"). Begin had a long interview in Makor Rishon and he said more than once that he is "old and tired", just like his old man was who gave away the Sinai, so we can fear that he will go along with any concessions that Bibi will come up with.However, I do have to admit that getting Begin was a coup for Bibi. Both the Likud and the reconstituted MAFDAL (old wine in new bottles) are aware that many right-wing voters are disgusted with them and disillusioned and were not planning to vote. We'll see how it comes out.